Today’s topic is Best Practices for Annual Faculty Performance Evaluations in an academic health center context.  Performance evaluations involve a structured and intentional process that assesses faculty contributions across key domains including professionalism, performance, and goal attainment. Feedback must address faculty members’ adherence to institutional values and professional conduct, contributions across the three mission areas (as appropriate to role), the effectiveness and impact of their work, and their success in meeting previously established goals. Progress toward promotion is another key piece of the evaluation. Equally important is the forward-looking aspect of the evaluation: setting meaningful, measurable goals for the upcoming year and identifying individual development needs that align with institutional priorities and personal career aspirations. A well-executed evaluation fosters accountability, supports professional growth, and strengthens faculty engagement and retention within the academic health center.

Quick Reads

Annual Faculty Evaluations (Connelly, 2018)

Recommendations for Best Practices: Annual Performance Reviews for Faculty Members and Academic Unit Heads (AAUP)

Leveraging Your Annual Evaluation (Simmons in Inside Higher Ed)

Faculty Evaluation (Institute for Academic Leadership)

Videos/Ted Talks

 Building a Thriving Team in Academic Medicine (Faculty Factory Podcast, 2024)

The Joy of Getting Feedback (TedX Talk)

Individualized Development Plan Templates

Three IDP Templates from Duke University

IDP Template from Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine

IDP Templates and Process for Students and Faculty from UMass

Summary from Google AI (new section)

Best practices for annual faculty performance evaluations in an academic health center context emphasize fairness, clarity, and a focus on both individual and institutional goals. Evaluations should be comprehensive, considering teaching, research, clinical care, and service. A structured process, including self-appraisal, peer review, and feedback sessions, is crucial for fostering growth and development. 

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of best practices:

1. Clear and Transparent Process:

• Defined Criteria:

Establish clear, transparent criteria for evaluation in each area (teaching, research, clinical care, institution or national professional service) aligned with institutional goals. 

• Workload Consideration:

Acknowledge and factor in the varying workload distributions of faculty across different tracks and ranks. 

• Regular Review:

Periodically review and update evaluation criteria to ensure they remain relevant and aligned with current best practices, including inclusive scholarship. 

• Communication:

Clearly communicate the evaluation process, criteria, and timeline to all faculty members. 

2. Comprehensive Evaluation Methods:

• Self-Appraisal:

Encourage faculty to conduct thorough self-evaluations, reflecting on their accomplishments, progress towards goals, and areas for development. 

• Peer Review:

Utilize widespread peer review options (manuscript publication process, elections/appointments to service positions, national or institutional awards, structured teaching observations with feedback, etc.

• Multiple Data Sources:

Employ multiple methods for assessing performance, including patient satisfaction and outcome indicators, student evaluations, teaching observations and peer review of teaching materials, and analysis of research outputs. 

• Focus on Impact:

Evaluate the impact of faculty contributions on the patients/family/community, department, college, and university, not just the quantity of work. 

2. Continuous Feedback and Goal Setting:

• Implement a system of continuous feedback:

Don’t rely solely on the annual review. Provide ongoing feedback throughout the year to address performance issues promptly and recognize accomplishments. 

• Foster open communication:

Encourage regular dialogue between supervisors and employees to discuss progress, challenges, and areas for development. 

• Collaboratively set SMART goals:

Work with employees to establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals aligned with their roles and the institution’s objectives. 

• Track progress and provide regular updates:

Monitor progress towards goals and provide feedback on performance throughout the year. 

3. Constructive and Balanced Feedback:

• Focus on both strengths and areas for improvement:

Provide a balanced assessment that acknowledges accomplishments while also identifying areas where performance can be enhanced. 

• Be specific and provide concrete examples:

Use specific examples to illustrate performance strengths and weaknesses, avoiding generalizations or personal attacks. 

• Frame feedback constructively:

Focus on behaviors and outcomes, and offer suggestions for improvement rather than criticizing the individual. 

• Encourage self-reflection and goal setting:

Allow employees to reflect on their performance and participate in setting goals for the upcoming year. 

4. Development-Oriented Individualized Plans:

• Recognize developmental stage of the faculty member.  Not all early career faculty are at the same level of performance, for instance. Understanding the unique needs and adjust expectations for those faculty in the first two years versus approaching promotion is critical. 
• Collaborate with faculty to create individualized development plans based on evaluation results, supporting their career growth. 
• Ensure faculty have access to resources and support needed to address identified areas for development. 
• Emphasize the unique aspects of academic health center faculty evaluations, including clinical and classroom training, patient care, and research. 

5. Importance of the Review Meeting:

• One-on-One Meetings:

Conduct formal, one-on-one meetings between the faculty member and their evaluator (chair, supervisor, or designated reviewer). 

• Open Dialogue:

Foster a constructive and open dialogue during the review meeting, allowing for discussion of performance, goals, and development plans. 

• Future Goals:

Discuss future goals, aligning them with the faculty member’s aspirations and the unit’s strategic objectives. 

4. Addressing Challenging Conversations:

• Prepare for difficult conversations:

Address performance issues with empathy and professionalism, acknowledging the employee’s contributions before addressing areas of concern.

• Listen actively and be open to perspectives:

Allow the employee to share their perspective and actively listen to their feedback.

• Collaborate on an improvement plan:

Work together to develop a plan with actionable steps and support resources. 

5. Alignment with Institutional Goals:

• Connect individual performance to institutional objectives:

Ensure that performance evaluations are aligned with the institution’s strategic goals and priorities. 

• Recognize and reward high performance:

Publicly acknowledge and reward outstanding performance to motivate employees and promote a culture of excellence. 

• Use evaluations as a tool for improvement:

Use the evaluation process to identify areas where the institution can better support employee development and performance. 

By implementing these best practices, academic health centers can create a performance evaluation process that is fair, transparent, and contributes to the growth and success of their faculty. 

Deeper Dives

Books

Best Practices in Faculty Evaluations (Butler, 2012)

Other

Conducting Effective Annual Reviews: A Workshop for Academic Leaders (MedEdPortal)

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